Badge 373 is the study of brutish, foul-mouthed New York cop Eddie Ryan (Robert Duvall), who is suspended following the death of a suspect who fell from the top of a building during a drug raid.
Eddie casts aside all questions of morality, decency and honesty in his determination to avenge the murder of his former partner, Gigi (Louis Cosentino). He is also a vehement racist to whom all Puerto Ricans (and it’s very much a West Side movie) are “Spics”.
Without a badge or the authority behind it, Eddie pursues the truth, which involves a shipment of stolen machine guns, Puerto Rican revolutionaries – led by idealist Ruben Garcia (Felipe Luciano) – and corrupt businessman Sweet William (Henry Darrow).
Unfortunately, Eddie gets his unsuspecting waitress girlfriend Maureen (Verna Bloom) involved with his personal crusade and ultimately gets her killed by the revolutionaries.
Various Puerto Rican action groups picketed the Paramount offices, claiming the film portrayed “all Puerto Ricans as prostitutes, thieves or bomb-throwing radicals”. They were right; it does.
“Inspired by” the real-life exploits of NYPD detective Eddie Egan (the inspiration also for Gene Hackman’s Popeye Doyle in The French Connection), the film performed dismally at the American box office and was largely hailed as a critical and commercial failure.
Duvall was coming off his Academy Award-nominated performance in The Godfather, and Badge 373 was quite a comedown.
Egan also appears in the movie as Lieutenant Scanlon.
Eddie Ryan Robert Duvall Maureen
Verna Bloom Sweet William
Henry Darrow Lieutenant Scanlon
Eddie Egan Ruben Garcia
Felipe Luciano Mrs Caputo
Tina Cristiani Rita Garcia
Marina Durell Frankie Diaz
Chico Martínez Ferrer
Jose Duvall Gigi Caputo
Louis Cosentino Chico
Luis Avalos Mrs Diaz
Nubia Olivero Assistant DA
Sam Schacht Commissioner
Edward F. Carey Superintendent
John Marriott Manuel
Joel Veiga Hans
Robert Weil Sweet William’s Hoods
Robert Miano
Pompie Pomposello
Hector Troy Ruben’s Gang
Miguel Alejandro
Harry Collazo
Damian Colon
Director Howard W. Koch
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Eddie casts aside all questions of morality, decency and honesty in his determination to avenge the murder of his former partner, Gigi (Louis Cosentino). He is also a vehement racist to whom all Puerto Ricans (and it’s very much a West Side movie) are “Spics”.
Various Puerto Rican action groups picketed the Paramount offices, claiming the film portrayed “all Puerto Ricans as prostitutes, thieves or bomb-throwing radicals”. They were right; it does.
